Blade of the Immortal (manga)
Blade of the Immortal (無限の住人, Mugen no Jūnin) is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Samura Hiroaki. Basic Plot Main Article Blade of the Immortal is set in the second year of the Tenmei era of Japan, which is 1782. This can also be referred to as the mid-Tokugawa Shogunate period. The main place of the story is Edo(modern-day Tokyo). The story starts with Manji, a samurai who killed 100 men for his old master and is consequently a wanted criminal. After meeting the 800-year old nun, Yaobikuni, Manji is given the Kessen-chū (Jpn. - 血仙蟲 - "sacred bloodworms"), creatures that sacrifice themselves to heal their human host's wounds. At this point, Yaobikuni is constantly trying to convince an at-first reluctant Manji to atone for his sins in some way (one of her suggestions is that he shaves his head, becomes a monk and embarks on a pilgrimage with her). However, when Manji's sister Machi is murdered by the brother of one of Manji's victims, Manji makes a vow to kill 1000 evil men to cancel out his past sins and end his eternal life. 1-2 years later, Manji meets Rin Asano, a sixteen-year-old girl whose parents were murdered two years earlier "at the hands of complete strangers." She begs him to help her seek out revenge against her parents' killers. In the end, he accompanies her back into town, meeting one of her targets, Kuroi Sabato. When Manji finally defeats Kuroi, he becomes Rin's bodyguard. Though Manji and Rin are deuteragonists, the storyline is primarily Rin's. The Kessen-chū Main Article The main hook of the series, the Kessen-chū(Jpn. - 血仙蟲 - "sacred bloodworms") are creatures that live and breed in a human host, sacrificing their bodies to regenerate any wound their host has sustained. While they can, for example, reseal a deep hole or reattach a limb, they cannot handle regrowth of too many wounds sustained at the same time, and it is rumored that the host will die if their head is cut off. Characters in Blade of the Immortal Main Article = Awards The series has so far won two awards, the first being an Excellence Prize at the 1997 Japan Media Arts Festival, the second being the Will Eisner Comic Industry Award in 2000 for "Best U.S Edition of Foreign Material." ---- Art of Hiroaki Samura Unlike many other mangaka, Samura attended art school, though he was picked up to do Blade of the Immortal before he graduated. Samura's style is very realistic mixed with some elements of typical anime and manga(i.e comical facial expressions) and he demonstrates a good knowledge of proportion and anatomy often in his work. Weapons and Martial Arts in Blade of the Immortal Volumes and Issues (tankōbon) Volumes(Japanese): Volumes* (English trade paperback): #''Blood of a Thousand'' #''Cry of the Worm'' #''Dreamsong'' #''On Silent Wings'' #''On Silent Wings II'' #''Dark Shadows'' #''Heart of Darkness'' #''The Gathering'' #''The Gathering II'' #''Secrets'' #''Beasts'' #''Fall/Autumn Frost'' #''Mirror of the Soul'' #''Last Blood'' #''Trickster'' #''Shortcut'' #''On the Perfection of Anatomy'' #''The Sparrow Net'' #''Badger Hole'' #''Demon's Lair'' #''Demon's Lair II'' #''Footsteps'' #''Scarlet Swords'' Regional differences (Editing in the European and American versions) Anime adaptation Main Article It was first announced on 23 March 2008 that an anime series based on Blade of the Immortal was in the works. It was produced by Bee Train and its first episode premiered on 13 July 2008. The Anime currently has finished its first season, which consisted of 13 episodes. Media Blasters, an American company, has acquired the rights to the show and has since released it in September 2010. They have dubbed the show in English. Cultural References & References to Other Works The series does have a few references to ancient Japan and other works, though they are quite rare and few in number. However, historic figures, events, and eras are often mentioned, such as Miyamoto Musashi, Oda Nobunaga, and the Muromachi period. The first instance of sampling from another work appears in Issue #2, Conquest. '''In Rin's flashback, Anotsu tells her father his percieved origin of the Itto-ryu - he explains that his grandfather(Saburo Anotsu) and Rin's grandfather(Takayuki Asano) were competing to recieve the secret inner teachings of the Mutenichi-ryu. He goes on to explain how his own grandfather was expelled, and in the process, a panel from Japanese print-maker and artist Hokusai's "Hokusai Manga" is shown. Another instance of sampling Hokusai's work came up again, in a much more recent issue of Blade of the Immortal. The cover of an issue featured in Volume 20(Demon's Lair II), shows Rin with part of one of Hokusai's well known ''Ukiyo-e prints; The Great Wave off Kanagawa '''. A real-life stone monument has also been shown(and explained) in Issue #89 ('Crossroads) 'of the series. In this part of the story, Anotsu, while travelling with Rin, has been infected with tetanus and, now that his condition has worsened, cannot even stand. He is shown to be leaning against the back of this monument, with Rin sitting nearby. This is also briefly explained at the end of the issue. The character Hanada, an Ittō-ryū underling, was "supposed to look like John Lennon" but ended up as "just another ''Otaku dude." His asymetrical glasses could also be taken as a reference to DC/Vertigo character Spider Jerusalem; one shade is quadratic and the other is circular. A few other characters are homages to certain bands and muscians such as Black Sabbath and Sex Pistols. However, these homages are contained in those certain characters' names. For example, the Ittō-ryū swordsman Kuroi Sabato's name is an almost literal romanization of "Black Sabbath;" Sabato is a romanization of the english word "Sabbath" and "Kuroi" is the Japanese word for "black." Specials, Spin-offs & other related work A novel, Legend of the Sword Demon, was published in 2008. It was written by Junichi Ohsako and features illustrations by Hiroaki Samura. An Artbook, The Art of Blade of the Immortal, has also been released by Dark Horse. It was published on 19 May 2010. Many of the back pages of both the Volumes and Issues of Blade of the Immortal include pin-ups, short parody comics and spin-off pictures often by other professional artists as well as Hiroaki Samura. Most of the singular issues also feature art of the characters, sent in by fans/amateur artists. Some Blade of the Immortal merchandise has been released by Dark Horse, including a Manji figure, as well as T-shirts and lighters featuring Manji and Rin on them. Stickers with various designs on them have also been released. Category:Manga